Category Archive: Restaurants

The Elusive Taco Truck (Palmerston North, New Zealand)

One idle, sunny afternoon, my siblings and I headed to The Square, the heart of the city of Palmerston North, New Zealand. After a few mundane grocery chores, my sister treated us to a taco lunch.

She has been raving about Dos Locos Taco since I landed in New Zealand. This Mexican food truck has been setting trails ablaze in the foodie scene of Palmerston North. Owned and operated by a very lovely couple of Mexican and South American descent, the business first started off in New York, America’s street-food central.

dos locos tacos mexican food truck

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Tal Al Amar: A Feast of Lebanese Traditions

Located on the 47th floor of Emirates Grand Hotel with panoramic views of the Dubai skyline, Tal Al Amar is a hidden gem for authentic Lebanese cuisine at very reasonable rates.

We had the pleasure of being invited for a tasting in late January, and were very impressed with the variety of dishes on offer.

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Dusty’s: New Foodie On The Block

Dusty’s is DIFC’s ‘newest kid on the block’. Conceptualized and created by the very talented young foodie Dusty Tourani, the self-named gastro-bar is a compilation of his favorite dishes from around the globe.

Dusty's by Dusty Tourani DIFC Dubai food review (27)
Dusty’s Est 1988 actually opened its doors in June 2015. 1988 is Dusty Tourani’s year of birth 🙂

 

Born in Singapore to Indian socialite couple Mahesh and Rekha Tourani, Dusty is an amalgamation of many foodie influences. After completing high-school in Dubai, Dusty moved to the States. He was studying in the East Coast, and his brother was on the West. The two would meet up midway in New York, and this opened up a whole new world of gastronomic experiences to Dusty.

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Tresind: Quintessentially Indian Molecular Gastronomy

If I were to sum up my experience at Tresind in one single word, it would have to be ‘magical‘. Ofcourse we’ve heard about the restaurant’s take on molecular gastronomy, but the theatrical brilliance of Tresind had us totally spellbound.

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The name ‘Tresind’ is a summation of two parts; ‘Tres’ from French meaning ‘very’, and ‘Ind’ for India. Despite all the chemistry that has gone into making Tresind an institution on molecular gastronomy, all the dishes we had the pleasure of trying stayed true to the original culinary flavors of Indian cuisine.

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5th Birthday Celebrations with Sugaholic!

My little cherub turned 5 yesterday, a whole half-decade! My cuddly little bundle is now a hyper little child with a strongly opinionated mind of her own. She’s graduated from Barney to Dora, and is currently fixated by the Frozen sisters.

She therefore insisted her birthday cake had to be a ‘Frozen’ one, preferably with the ‘cooler’ sister Elsa on it (pun intended!). Just like the sister duo Elsa and Ana have a huge fan following with little girls the world over, the Bhatia sisters Sneha and Ravisha have been creating headlines in the Dubai bakery scene.

Fondly known as the ‘Suga Sisters’, Sneha and Ravisha conceptualized and created Sugaholic way back in May 2010. It all started off with their love for baking, and the brand was created for a bake-sale to generate funds for children’s education in India. Their bakery creations were far more successful than expected. An unprecedented number of orders came flooding in, and Sneha and Ravisha finally took a leap of faith and left their high-flying banking careers to launch their brand, Sugaholic. Read more on the Suga Sisters here.

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McGettigan’s: Irish Pub Grub in Fujairah

McGettigan’s, the Irish gastro sports pub established way back in the 1960’s, has already made its mark in the UAE. Their branches have a cosy Irish charm which makes McGettigan’s rather unique in the UAE setting. I was not aware they have a branch in Fujairah, so when I got a brunch invite for a #ZomatoMeetup there last Friday, I jumped at the chance.

mcgettigans irish pub uae fujairah review (19)

We rarely see the morning sun on Fridays, and crawl out of bed just past noon. Last Friday was different. We had to be at McGettigan’s Fujairah by 12.30 sharp, and hit the road by 10 am. The drive to Fujairah is a scenic treat. With a kaleidoscope of rocky mountains and brick-red sand dunes on either side, and a free road with speeds of up to 120 km, a trip to Fujairah on a Friday morning makes for the perfect weekend road-trip.

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Little Manila: Book a Boodle Fight for Valentines!

The Filipino community take up a large percentage of the expat population in the UAE, and it is heartening to see we finally have a little piece of the Philippines right in the commercial nook of Deira, Dubai catering for the authentic cuisines our Filipino brethren have been missing from back home. Little Manila is not a restaurant; it is a whole food-court of well-loved foodie brands hailing from the Philippines. I had the pleasure of attending their opening in September (read all about it here), and then I got invited for a ‘Boodle Fight’!

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The Hotdog Stand: Gourmet Hotdogs Make a Debut in Dubai Marina

“Are we really going to drive that far just to have hotdogs?!” This was my husband whining for the umpteenth time as we took yet another turn that got us lost into the urban jungle of Dubai Marina.

The Hotdog Stand is relatively easy to find with the help of our trusty GPS (the coordinates are 25.069795, 55.133140), but when we found no parking in the vicinity, we ended up on the highway towards Abu Dhabi!

When we finally got to the restaurant, flustered and half an hour late, the staff tell us they have parking! You just need to honk at the front or call them on 800 HOTDOG, and they will have you sorted. Lesson learnt; always ask about the parking facilities when trying out a new restaurant!

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Budget Eats: Orient Grill, Sharjah

As true-blue foodies, we are always on the lookout for really good, tasty grub. A friend of mine recommended Orient Grill. Tucked away in the residential nook of Abu Shagara (Sharjah), she said it may not be as fancy-schmancy as some of the places we dine at, but vouched that the restaurant does a great job with Indo-Chinese cuisine. I checked out Oriental Grill on Zomato, and saw the restaurant had an average rating of 4.1 out of 5, and decided to look it up.

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